Simonelli, who is free on $150,000 bond, in June will be given a 15-year sentence that will be suspended after seven years, according to his plea agreement. He will then be on probation for five years, during which a violation would require he serve all or part of the suspended sentence.

While going over the plea agreement with Simonelli and his defense attorney, Lindy Urso, Judge Richard Comerford called the fast-moving wave of destruction on East Avenue a "terrible incident." During it, Simonelli crashed into a dozen cars and a school bus carrying 28 passengers.

Urso said Simonelli was so high on the powerful hallucinogen that he has no recollection of the incident.

"He was absolutely cranked out on PCP. The tests revealed that he was heavily under the influence of PCP and the state's own toxicology expert said the levels of PCP were consistent with this odd behavior," Urso said.

"I don't recall in my 15-plus years of experience having a more remorseful client. This kid has no interest in going to trial. He did not want to put these children and victims through this nightmare again. There is nothing he can do to undo what he did and he is accepting this pretty harsh penalty like a man and he is ready to go back in and serve his time," Urso said.

On Nov. 11, 2010, Simonelli had been acting strangely at work and at one point was posing topless. At 2:22 p.m. he took a box truck belonging to his employer, Action Letter Inc., of Elm Court, and raced the vehicle through the CTTransit bus maintenance facility.

After crashing through the rear gate of the facility, he gunned the truck north on Myrtle Avenue and turned west on East Main, where he struck most of the cars and the Stamford High School bus, seriously injuring three students on it.

Simonelli, who witnesses said accelerated the truck after each collision, ran over numerous street signs and parking meters.

Inside one vehicle was a 15-year-old girl, who later listed in critical condition at the hospital because of a gash on her forehead. Assistant State's Attorney Mitchell Rubin told Comerford the girl has a permanent scar on her forehead.

On the bus, a male student who sat at the point of impact suffered a fracture to his left shoulder blade. A female student suffered a concussion and lost consciousness from the impact and kept passing out afterward. A second male student suffered a concussion and was told to refrain from sports.

The accidents shut down East Main Street from Glenbrook Road to Myrtle Avenue for five hours, causing major gridlock throughout the downtown area.

The then-bearded Simonelli, who suffered life-threatening injuries and was extricated from the box truck with power tools, made his January 2010 court appearance in a wheelchair with a cut over his left eye and his right hand bandaged.

Urso said Simonelli broke both his legs during the series of crashes. A search warrant included in his court file said he also suffered a broken right wrist and right ankle.

Simonelli was originally charged with four counts of first-degree assault, 27 counts of risk of injury to a minor, four counts of leaving the scene of an accident and driving while under the influence. Only the assault charges were retained.

Comerford warned Simonelli that if he did not show up in court on June 5, or was cited for any criminal or traffic violation, he would feel justified sentencing him to the maximum 80 years in prison.